Protavio, a certified Olink service provider, runs Olink Explore HT analysis for research teams in academia, biotech and pharma. Measure more than 5,400 proteins in each sample with Olink's Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) and a next-generation sequencing (NGS) readout, and receive your data with bioinformatic analysis included in every project. Our team helps you design the study, from the research question to the sample groups.
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Olink Explore HT is Olink’s high-throughput platform for plasma proteomics and biomarker discovery. It measures more than 5,400 proteins in a single sample, using 2 µL per sample, and reads the result by next-generation sequencing (NGS). Protavio is a certified Olink service provider for Explore HT: you send your samples, and we run the assay, check the data quality and deliver the results with bioinformatic analysis included.
Explore HT is built for discovery studies that need near proteome-wide coverage, from pilot studies to large cohorts. The Olink Explore HT panel is a single library rather than a set of separate panels: it covers secreted, intracellular and tissue-enriched proteins, so one run can reveal proteins that smaller panels miss. Explore HT is part of Protavio’s High-Plex discovery proteomics service.
Protavio has been a certified Olink service provider for Explore HT since 2024. To be certified, it passed Olink’s Concordance Test for Explore HT, which compared Protavio’s data quality with Olink’s own Analysis Service laboratory in Uppsala, Sweden. Read more about Protavio’s Explore HT certification.
Our free guide covers the decisions to take before samples leave your freezer: framing the research question, choosing between Explore HT and Reveal, designing groups and plate layout, sample collection and handling, and reading NPX data.
It includes what eight published Explore HT and Reveal studies did, a checklist and a sample list template.
Olink Explore HT uses the Proximity Extension Assay (PEA). Each protein is recognized by a pair of antibodies, each carrying a short DNA tag. Only when both antibodies bind the same protein do the tags come close enough to join and be extended into a unique DNA barcode. The barcodes are amplified by PCR, indexed per sample and counted by NGS.
Because a signal needs two antibodies binding together, PEA keeps cross-reactivity low: in Olink’s Explore HT validation data (2023), 5,389 of 5,416 assays (99.5%) showed no cross-reactivity in a test pool of 179 closely related proteins. Results are reported as Normalized Protein eXpression (NPX), a relative unit on a log2 scale that compares each protein across your samples.
For background on the technology, see Olink PEA technology.
Bioinformatics included: every project includes bioinformatic analysis, scoped with you at the start: quality control, differential expression and pathway analysis, and biomarker panel selection where the study design supports it
Experience in multiplex proteomics: more than 20 years of work with immunoassays across sample types, assay formats and technologies, including Olink and Luminex
Diagnostic expertise: Protavio develops and validates diagnostic assays, so your discovery study is designed with the next step in mind, a validated multiplex assay
A certified quality system: the analysis service runs under an ISO 9001 quality management system, certified since 2019; assay development and manufacturing run under ISO 13485 and GMP
Proteogenomics: combine your Explore HT data with genomic data to link protein levels to genetic variants
Every Explore HT project includes bioinformatic analysis. A differential expression analysis compares each of the 5,400+ proteins between your study groups and highlights the ones that differ, the starting point for pathway analysis and, where the study design supports it, a biomarker panel.
Our team agrees the analysis with you at the start of the project and goes through the results with you in a consultation call.
Protavio runs both Olink Explore HT and Olink Reveal. The right one depends on your research question and how much of the proteome you need to cover; book a call and we will help you choose.
| At a glance | Olink Explore HT | Olink Reveal |
|---|---|---|
| Content | 5,400+ proteins | 1,034 assays |
| Sample used | 2 µL (10 µL needed) | 4 µL |
| Precision (median CV, intra / inter) | 10.2% / 8.8% | 7.2% / 4.2% |
| Library | Near proteome-wide, including intracellular and tissue-enriched proteins | Proteins commonly detected in blood, with a focus on inflammation and immune response |
| Best for | Deep discovery across the proteome | Broad but focused discovery studies |
Explore HT and Reveal results agree closely on shared proteins (median correlation 0.98). Figures from Olink validation data.
Instead of just analyzing your samples, we provide you with a dedicated proteomic specialist who possesses extensive knowledge and ensures that the study design is tailored to your specific requirements and hypothesis.
Send your samples to either our European or US dedicated sample collection sites, equipped with state-of-the-art storage infrastructure and monitoring. You can use either our approved carriers or follow your own shipment processes.
Obtain a comprehensive proteomic analysis report encompassing the study design, detailed methodology, dataset, visualizations, bioinformatic analysis, and any additional agreed-upon services outlined in the study plan.
Schedule a one-hour consultation call with our Chief Scientific Officer and our Project Manager to discuss crucial biological discoveries and address any further inquiries you may have for advancing your research to the next level.
Yes. Protavio has been a certified Olink service provider for Olink Explore HT since 2024, and for Olink Reveal since April 2025. To be certified, Protavio passed Olink’s Concordance Test, which compares a provider’s data quality with Olink’s Analysis Service laboratory in Uppsala, Sweden, on measures such as detectability and coefficient of variation.
More than 5,400. Olink’s current Explore HT assay list holds 5,416 assays, each for a unique protein. They form a single library, run in eight blocks by protein abundance, so every sample is measured for the whole library at once rather than panel by panel. Library content can vary slightly between manufactured lots.
Please send at least 50 µL per sample. The Explore HT assay uses 2 µL of each sample, and 10 µL is needed to set it up. No technical replicates are needed: every sample carries three internal controls, and every plate carries external controls.
Olink Explore HT is validated on human plasma and serum. Other sample types, such as cerebrospinal fluid or cell and tissue lysates, are possible; we discuss them with you before the project starts. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples are not compatible. Protavio analyzes human samples only.
You receive a full proteomic analysis report covering the study design, methods, dataset, visualizations and the bioinformatic analysis agreed at the start, such as differential expression, pathway enrichment and candidate biomarker panels. The data come in Olink’s NPX format. A consultation call with our team then goes through the findings with you. See how bioinformatics adds to High-Plex proteomics.
Choose Explore HT when your study needs the broadest view of the proteome, including intracellular and tissue-enriched proteins. Choose Reveal for a broad but focused study of 1,034 assays, weighted toward inflammation and immune response. Both use the same PEA technology and agree closely on shared proteins. See our full comparison of Olink Reveal and Explore HT, or ask our team about your study.
Talk to a Protavio proteomics specialist about your research question, sample groups and the analysis you need. Planning a cohort? Read our guide to experimental design for proteomic analysis.